‘I WAS DENIED BY GORDON – AND REF,’ MOANS MOULT

LOUIS MOULT, Motherwell’s Betfred matchwinner against Aberdeen and Sevco Rangers, grudgingly praised Celtic keeper Craig Gordon after the Hoops’ 2-0 Cup Final success.

But the Fir Park hitman wasn’t so complimentary about the performance of referee Craig Thomson.

Moult had the opportunity to level shortly after James Forrest had given the champions the lead four minutes into the second-half.

The frontman threw himself at a left-wing cross to thump in a header, but Gordon showed remarkable reflexes as he diverted the ball onto the crossbar and the Kieran Tierney completed the clearance.

Moult moaned: “I just wish the ball would have gone in, but to be fair to Gordon, it was a great save.

“The ball has come at me really quickly. I got good power and contact on the header and, I’ll be honest with you, I was waiting for the net to bulge, but he flung an arm at it and brought off a tremendous save.

“I connected brilliantly with the cross. As soon as I did, I thought: ‘Goal!’.

“You just have to take your hat off and say what a save it was. Then I also hit the post with the last kick of the ball from a free-kick. It was one of those days.”

Moult, though, slammed match official Thomson for awarding the Hoops their spot-kick after deciding Cedric Kipre’s tug at Scotty Sinclair also merited a red card.

He also insisted he was denied a stonewaller moments earlier when he was clipped in the box by Tierney.

The attacker added: “I feel a bit hard done by. There were big decisions on a big day. I should have got a penalty moments before they got theirs. That’s football. I understand the referee has a very difficult job. But I still feel a little bit hard done by.

“Initially, Tierney tried to pull me back. He didn’t manage to do that and then clipped my heels. Whether he meant to clip my heels or not I don’t know, but he did it.

What a save by Gordon pic.twitter.com/JI1w4f6Myc

— tam sellics son (@gibbygibbo1) November 26, 2017

“Why would I go down? I had a tap-in. For me, it was a penalty so it is a hard one to take.

“I asked the referee about it and he just said: ‘You are being a bit optimistic there, aren’t you?’ That’s all he said and then he wouldn’t let me speak to him.

“In my eyes it was a penalty for us and not a penalty for them – and, of course, I’m going to say that.”

LISBON LION Jim Craig is the very special guest on the new CQN Podcast – out now!

Jim releases his new book, Right Back to 67, The Lisbon Lion Diary next week and we are pretty confident that this will be regarded as one of the classic Celtic books of all time.

There has been so much written about 1967 in some very fine books to-date but nothing like this. Jim kept a diary of his time at Celtic and in Right Back to 67 he is able to provide the authentic, inside story. It really is too good to miss.

You can order the book now from CQNBookstore.com and you will receive a signed copy. You can also add a personal dedication which is ideal for a Christmas gift. Simply email david@cqnpublishing.co.uk with your dedication after you have ordered and Jim will sort this for you next week.

Jim Craig joined Paul John Dykes and Kevin Graham to discuss the Lisbon Lions’ 50th anniversary celebrations in a year which also saw Celtic winning an invincible treble, a prestigious award from FIFA naming their fans as the best in the world, and even a BAFTA!

In this emotional interview, Jim reminisces about Jock Stein, Billy McNeill, Neilly Mochan, Bertie Auld, Tommy Gemmell, Joe McBride and George Connelly.

He also discusses his latest book, his magnificent Lisbon Lion Diary: Right Back to ’67. This memoir is a real fly-on-the-wall recollection of events from 50 years ago, brought to life by Jim Craig’s intelligent and humorous brand of storytelling. Order HERE.

ORDER YOUR SIGNED COPY OF JIM CRAIG – RIGHT BACK TO 67, A LISBON LION DIARY TODAY!